Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - William Pearl

It's no easy task summarizing the history of recorded jazz from 1917 to the present, but Ken Burns does a fine job of accomplishing just that on this five-disc overview of the music. From the Original Dixieland Jazz Band's "Livery Stable Blues" to Cassandra Wilson's "Death Letter Blues" this well-chosen survey documents the amazing evolution of our national art form. From blues to New Orleans-style to swing to bop to modern to free jazz and on to contemporary sounds, as well as many of the tangents within that broad spectrum, each idiom gets its due. The greatest musicians and some of their greatest musical moments are here: Louis Armstrong's "West End Blues," Duke ...

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Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble
- William Pearl

It's no easy task summarizing the history of recorded jazz from 1917 to the present, but Ken Burns does a fine job of accomplishing just that on this five-disc overview of the music. From the Original Dixieland Jazz Band's "Livery Stable Blues" to Cassandra Wilson's "Death Letter Blues" this well-chosen survey documents the amazing evolution of our national art form. From blues to New Orleans-style to swing to bop to modern to free jazz and on to contemporary sounds, as well as many of the tangents within that broad spectrum, each idiom gets its due. The greatest musicians and some of their greatest musical moments are here: Louis Armstrong's "West End Blues," Duke Ellington's "Cotton Tail," Benny Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing," and Miles Davis's "E.S.P.," are just a handful of the brilliant examples of jazz at its best. For those who love the music and those who are just getting their first taste of it, this box set is essential.

All Music Guide
- Richie Unterberger

In conjunction with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns' ten-part 2000 PBS special, Columbia/Legacy and Verve teamed up to issue a special series of reissues covering much of the history of 20th century jazz. The central release of this program is the five-CD box set Ken Burns Jazz: The Story of America's Music, its 94 selections covering the history of 20th century jazz, from 1917 to the mid-'90s. Chronologically, the set is very skewed toward the first 50 years of that time span; there is only just under a CD's worth of music dating from after the mid-'60s. What's here is a very good range of classic jazz from throughout the decades, touching upon performances, many acknowledged classics, from many of the music's giants: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, and up to Wynton Marsalis and Cassandra Wilson. There are just a few dubious inclusions Grover Washington, Jr.'s "Mister Magic," for instance, and as music it's nearly wall-to-wall excellence. As far as core classics of the jazz repertoire, there are quite a few: Armstrong's "West End Blues," Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing With a Swing," Count Basie's "Lester Leaps In," Holiday's "Strange Fruit," Ellington's "Take the 'A' Train," Gillespie's "Salt Peanuts," Monk's "Straight, No Chaser," Davis' "So What," Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," Coltrane's "Giant Steps," Weather Report's "Birdland," and Hancock's "Rockit." As education, if you didn't know much about jazz before hearing this box, you'll have been exposed to a good deal of its major touchstones after digesting it. Just don't be under the impression that it covers all of the main mileposts, or even that it gives you all of the key launching pads from which to explore further.

Billboard

Beautifully packaged, with personnel for each track dutifully annotated along with a blurb that provides a historical background for each featured artist, this box is essential listening for anyone remotely or intensely interested in the American jazz experience.
Beautifully packaged, with personnel for each track dutifully annotated along with a blurb that provides a historical background for each featured artist, this box is essential listening for anyone remotely or intensely interested in the American jazz experience.

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Customer Reviews

Anonymous

Posted October 1, 2010

best compilation i have ever heard

amazing. so worth the money that it is unbelievable.

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Anonymous

Posted October 1, 2010

Awesome, it's worth the money.

I had originally bought this over a year ago from Best Buy (-trust me it's much cheaper here-) and I absolutely love this. It's got so much to offer, and it's really worth it. The songs are really good, and sound great. This is great for longtime lovers of this style of music, or just those who are now finding the style.

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